OpenTable

Software Engineer Interview Experience - San Francisco, California

August 11, 2014

Negative ExperienceNo Offer

Process

Initial call from recruiter, then a technical phone screen, then in person with 4-5 people over 4-5 hours.

Culture is apparently changing, but there's still a lot of negativity in the air. Most of the interviewers complained about something related to their job.

A tour of the office told me everything I needed to know.

They emailed the next day with a decline.

Questions

Typical corporate questions, such as 'What are you passionate about?' and other college-level CS questions (e.g., implement a binary search).

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Interview Statistics

The following metrics were computed from 11 interview experiences for the OpenTable Software Engineer role in San Francisco, California.

Success Rate

9%

Pass Rate

OpenTable's interview process for their Software Engineer roles in San Francisco, California is extremely selective, failing the vast majority of engineers.

Experience Rating

Positive55%

Neutral9%

Negative36%

Candidates reported having good feelings for OpenTable's Software Engineer interview process in San Francisco, California.

OpenTable Work Experiences

I keep hoping things improve.

Software Engineer • Current Employee

San Francisco, CA

Pros: Extremely great work-life balance, and I'm almost shocked to read others who wrote that as a con. Most of the employees in SF have families and tend to leave around 6pm every day. Almost all my colleagues are super friendly and great to work with. Plus, we're all foodies! I've never found so many great places to eat in the city than during my time here at OpenTable. There's a lot of passion for making the best restaurant experience. Everyone from the bottom of the company really believes in the mission.

Cons: With that said, where do I begin with the cons? First off, the CEO is hardly around and makes bizarre low-level decisions without entrusting of his direct reports. Another exec is completely out of touch with their org other than a couple projects that interest them. This makes communication a gigantic hurdle and employee promotions a struggle. Another team came in from an acquisition with an *extremely* toxic employee who insults everyone around them, causing stress and damaging to the culture, and still manages to get praised by the exec team. We have a very tiny budget for anything that increases employee happiness. Only a few employees have standing desks, and there's only a couple boxes of fruit for 400+ employees, and we share low quality Costco sugar snacks. The office manager does care about this problem, but there's little they can do given the unreasonable constraint on budget.

I keep hoping things improve.

Software Engineer • Current Employee

San Francisco, CA

Pros: Extremely great work-life balance, and I'm almost shocked to read others who wrote that as a con. Most of the employees in SF have families and tend to leave around 6pm every day. Almost all my colleagues are super friendly and great to work with. Plus, we're all foodies! I've never found so many great places to eat in the city than during my time here at OpenTable. There's a lot of passion for making the best restaurant experience. Everyone from the bottom of the company really believes in the mission.

Cons: With that said, where do I begin with the cons? First off, the CEO is hardly around and makes bizarre low-level decisions without entrusting of his direct reports. Another exec is completely out of touch with their org other than a couple projects that interest them. This makes communication a gigantic hurdle and employee promotions a struggle. Another team came in from an acquisition with an *extremely* toxic employee who insults everyone around them, causing stress and damaging to the culture, and still manages to get praised by the exec team. We have a very tiny budget for anything that increases employee happiness. Only a few employees have standing desks, and there's only a couple boxes of fruit for 400+ employees, and we share low quality Costco sugar snacks. The office manager does care about this problem, but there's little they can do given the unreasonable constraint on budget.

Sinking Ship (Sadder than Titanic)

Software Engineer • Former Employee

September 4, 2024

Pros: - Brand recognition (while it lasts)

Cons: - Debby Soo - Sagar Mehta - Caste System that is active in a way that has a negative impact on the culture and business results - Being treated less than human

Sinking Ship (Sadder than Titanic)

Software Engineer • Former Employee

September 4, 2024

Pros: - Brand recognition (while it lasts)

Cons: - Debby Soo - Sagar Mehta - Caste System that is active in a way that has a negative impact on the culture and business results - Being treated less than human

Best Place to work!

Software Engineer • Current Employee

February 8, 2023

Pros: A recruiter contacted me some months ago, then started the hiring process without any expectation (since I didn't check reputation or qualifications from friends or coworkers), but I thank God this place is really cool! Good environment, a lot of communication across team members, a very agile way to work, and using the latest tendencies in technology and approaches. I'm happy to be part of this family and expect to stay here a very long time.

Cons: None found so far that I have realized.

Best Place to work!

Software Engineer • Current Employee

February 8, 2023

Pros: A recruiter contacted me some months ago, then started the hiring process without any expectation (since I didn't check reputation or qualifications from friends or coworkers), but I thank God this place is really cool! Good environment, a lot of communication across team members, a very agile way to work, and using the latest tendencies in technology and approaches. I'm happy to be part of this family and expect to stay here a very long time.

Cons: None found so far that I have realized.

I keep hoping things improve.

Software Engineer • Current Employee

San Francisco, CA

Pros: Extremely great work-life balance, and I'm almost shocked to read others who wrote that as a con. Most of the employees in SF have families and tend to leave around 6pm every day. Almost all my colleagues are super friendly and great to work with. Plus, we're all foodies! I've never found so many great places to eat in the city than during my time here at OpenTable. There's a lot of passion for making the best restaurant experience. Everyone from the bottom of the company really believes in the mission.

Cons: With that said, where do I begin with the cons? First off, the CEO is hardly around and makes bizarre low-level decisions without entrusting of his direct reports. Another exec is completely out of touch with their org other than a couple projects that interest them. This makes communication a gigantic hurdle and employee promotions a struggle. Another team came in from an acquisition with an *extremely* toxic employee who insults everyone around them, causing stress and damaging to the culture, and still manages to get praised by the exec team. We have a very tiny budget for anything that increases employee happiness. Only a few employees have standing desks, and there's only a couple boxes of fruit for 400+ employees, and we share low quality Costco sugar snacks. The office manager does care about this problem, but there's little they can do given the unreasonable constraint on budget.

2.0
I keep hoping things improve.
Software Engineer • Current Employee
San Francisco, CA
June 17, 2015
Pros: Extremely great work-life balance, and I'm almost shocked to read others who wrote that as a con. Most of the employees in SF have families and tend to leave around 6pm every day. Almost all my colleagues are super friendly and great to work with. Plus, we're all foodies! I've never found so many great places to eat in the city than during my time here at OpenTable. There's a lot of passion for making the best restaurant experience. Everyone from the bottom of the company really believes in the mission.
Cons: With that said, where do I begin with the cons? First off, the CEO is hardly around and makes bizarre low-level decisions without entrusting of his direct reports. Another exec is completely out of touch with their org other than a couple projects that interest them. This makes communication a gigantic hurdle and employee promotions a struggle. Another team came in from an acquisition with an *extremely* toxic employee who insults everyone around them, causing stress and damaging to the culture, and still manages to get praised by the exec team. We have a very tiny budget for anything that increases employee happiness. Only a few employees have standing desks, and there's only a couple boxes of fruit for 400+ employees, and we share low quality Costco sugar snacks. The office manager does care about this problem, but there's little they can do given the unreasonable constraint on budget.

Sinking Ship (Sadder than Titanic)

Software Engineer • Former Employee

September 4, 2024

Pros: - Brand recognition (while it lasts)

Cons: - Debby Soo - Sagar Mehta - Caste System that is active in a way that has a negative impact on the culture and business results - Being treated less than human

1.0
Sinking Ship (Sadder than Titanic)
Software Engineer • Former Employee
September 4, 2024
Pros: - Brand recognition (while it lasts)
Cons: - Debby Soo - Sagar Mehta - Caste System that is active in a way that has a negative impact on the culture and business results - Being treated less than human

Best Place to work!

Software Engineer • Current Employee

February 8, 2023

Pros: A recruiter contacted me some months ago, then started the hiring process without any expectation (since I didn't check reputation or qualifications from friends or coworkers), but I thank God this place is really cool! Good environment, a lot of communication across team members, a very agile way to work, and using the latest tendencies in technology and approaches. I'm happy to be part of this family and expect to stay here a very long time.

Cons: None found so far that I have realized.

5.0
Best Place to work!
Software Engineer • Current Employee
Zapopan
February 8, 2023
Pros: A recruiter contacted me some months ago, then started the hiring process without any expectation (since I didn't check reputation or qualifications from friends or coworkers), but I thank God this place is really cool! Good environment, a lot of communication across team members, a very agile way to work, and using the latest tendencies in technology and approaches. I'm happy to be part of this family and expect to stay here a very long time.
Cons: None found so far that I have realized.

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